Mainlanded > Men’s Basketball faces tough challenge Davie Wong Sports Editor Comins home for this weekend was always going to be tough. The Royals faced one of the PACWEST’s best in VIU as well as positional contenders Camosun in the same weekend. It would be a good test of strength for the team to see just how much they had improved over the break. Going into the VIU game, confi- dence was high. It was a bit of a patchy start for the team, but they bounced back and kept it close in the third, only allowing VIU to have a three-point lead. Speaking of three points, that was the theme of the game for both squads. With both teams playing lock- down defence, the game turned into a three throwing contest. Both teams peppered the netting with fantastic shots and neither team really let up. The intensity of the game carried into the second quarter, where the Royals fended off a VIU attack with some offence of their own. VIU ulti- mately came out ahead of the Royals at half time, balancing their three point lead and holding it high. Things picked up right where they left offin the third as both squads con- tinued to rain down shots from afar. Both squads were only fractions apart from each other throughout the third, and things went into the fourth still as they were, with the Royals trailing by only three. But in the fourth, it would be those three points that downed [i j a S 1) a a a UGBLA GE Y. Be —— ee the Royals. As close as the two teams were, VIU had the three points up, and the Royals had to foul themselves into a deeper hole to try and come- back. However, that comeback didn’t happen, and the VIU Mariners walked away with a 77-69 win over the Roy- als. VIU’s Usama Zaid was a spectacle to behold that night. In 14 minutes, Zaid tallied 33 points for his team and g rebounds. This is some incredible efficiency. On the Royals side, there were several players who made big impacts. Sheldon Derton scored 21 points, Grant Campbell had 11 on the night, (oe : iW = “hit Avi i Photograph by Davie Wong and Malcolm Mensah picked up 14 of his own. But the player that had the biggest impact on the court had to be Reese Morris. Reese had 18 points and 11 rebounds en-route to his second double-double of the season. With that game in the books, the team turned to the Camosun Chargers. They set the perfect tone early into the game, scoring 23 points to Chargers’ 22 in the first quarter. But the team couldn’t quite hold on in the second quarter, where the Chargers came back and snatched away the lead. They walked into halftime leading the Roy- als 40-37. Things only got worse for the Royals after halftime, as the Chargers plunged their lead deeper. Another eight point differential gave the Char- gers a massive lead going into a vital fourth frame. The Royals managed to come back and nick three points off the Chargers, but the three wasn’t enough, and they fell to the visiting Camosun squad. The Chargers were led by some fantastic individual play. Evan Woodson had a team-high 29 points from the bench. Mathew Hampton sank 16 points and picked up 11 rebounds for a double-double to lift his squad to a win. Over on the Royals side, there were several big performances. In his 10 minutes on the court, Grant Campbell grabbed 14 points for the team. Reese Morris had 11 points and 8 rebounds. But the Royals’ monster came from the bench. Malcolm Mensah was instrumental to the Royals staying in as long as they did, with 27 points on the night, as well as 15 rebounds to snag his second double- double of the season. The weekend’s results bode poorly for the Royals in the standings. While VIU, Langara, and Capilano are all tied up for first at 8-2, the Royals sit at fourth with a 4-6 record. They are tied with Quest, and only one game ahead of the Camosun Chargers. While the playoffs are certainly within reach, the team really needs to consider positioning as the top three continue to drift away from them, and the bottom two continue to drift closer. Bouncing back against the Bearcats > Men’s Volleyball team soars against Bearcats Davie Wong Sports Editor LI: been a while since the Royals men’s volleyball team has tasted victory. Nearly two months to be exact. Their last win was clocked in November, and the team was in desperate need of a morale booster. Their slump comes at a time when playoffs are right around the corner and points begin to matter even more than normal. This week, the PACWEST saw them playing against the Columbia Bible College Bearcats in a battle between two lower table teams. But from the way both teams played, you could never tell. A win against the Bearcats was never guaranteed, but for some of the players, it was expected. However, the Bearcats weren't going to go down easy. In Bearcats style, they would fight until the last point, and you could see that right from the start. The first set saw the Douglas squad start strong into the game and seize their chances, going up 1-0 ON a 25-22 set win. The second set proved much easier for the Douglas team as the players set themselves up at a new level and absolutely brought the house down on the Bearcats. They took that set 25-15 and went into the third set with their head held high and their confidence on the rise. But the Bearcats would not go down without a fight. They stormed their way back into the game, keeping Photograph by Davie Wong themselves alive on the board long enough to secure a set win. With momentum in their hand, the CBC team thrashed the Royals in a fourth set 25-18 to force a fifth and decisive set. It would be here that the Royals broke out of their rut and snapped back into game form, taking a strong win against the Bearcats, 15-7. The next game the two played was the next day. Like the day before, the Royals started out strongly, but had to fight to close the first set, eventually taking it 25-23. The second set was similar, but the Douglas squad had begun closing in the distance when the Bearcats fought back. By the time the Bearcats were in full fighting form, the Royals had put the touch on the final point of the set, taking it 25-22. But the Bearcats were ready now. They came into the third set swinging, and just unloaded on the Royals. The barrage was a little much for the team, and they dropped the third set 25-22. Determined to not let it get to another five set game, the men turned the burner on and left the Bearcats in the dust. They finished the game with a 25-17 set win to cap the game at 3-1. Their sweep of the weekend allowed them to finish in fourth place in the PACWEST to end the week. They sit two games behind third-place Camosun, and a game ahead of COTR and Capilano, who occupy fifth and sixth.